X&H, Major Havoc Suppliers
by Seeker of the wind
Summary: Got any "delicate problems"? Your enemies are getting out of hand, your secrets risk exposure or your property requires retrieval? Specialists Axe and Ache of X&H Inc., Major Havoc Suppliers, are at your service. No slash. Rating up for bad language.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the used characters. This text is for no commercial use.

X&H

Chapter 1. The inner beauty of W&H

It was a hot august day, when the operation "Inner beauty" came together. The air of L.A. was dry, hot and full of city smog and no humanlike entity under direct sunlight could think of something except shelter and water. Even the vampire, whom Xander questioned about Wolfram and Hart's ventilation system, was thinking primarily about the same: of not getting under hurtful rays or being set aflame.

Wide and careless smile of American demon hunter was unreadable for a hundred-year-old vampire, trapped in a stone, but he knew that young man was capable of extreme cruelty. Last of his attempts to withhold information from these creeps ended in 24 hour marathon of soap operas. Fragile undead mind nearly collapsed around 30th episode of Passions. He would never be the same again.

-So, H, - last sound seemed rather like 'Ache' than contraction of a name. –Why do we need this 'dead man walking"?-

-Polyjuice is best to be used on hair of an active person than with a dead one. We still need his hair for the potion, not his dust, - thin and pale Englishman with bright green eyes frowned on the thought. –Don't worry; he'll see the light of glory as soon as he's not needed.-

Wizard cut off a string of hair from the prisoner and threw it into the cauldron. Potion changed color and Englishman poured liquid into a small glass vial.

-Now help yourself, Axe.-

American grinned and opened the blinds on the window. Bright Californian sun filled the room and bathed vampire "in the light of glory". If the room was not soundproof or had working fire alarm, there could have been trouble. But then "Axe and Ache, World's Major Havoc Suppliers" would not have chosen it.

Operation was planned for 4pm, as creatures of the night could not go out yet, but security work was already sloppy. Xander slipped through the front door under an invisibility cloak, while Harry walked around the building, making finishing touches for major ward crushing. Inside, Axe chose a quiet storeroom to take off the cloak, drink polyjuice and check Doomsday Device. Then he, disguised as a tech, went up to floor 27 to "sort out ventilation". The security system was most probable to react fifteen minutes after he was first seen by camera, so the clocks were ticking and time was running low. As soon as he was on the floor, he sent an SMS to his accomplice. Harry began "mojo hacking" and all the security alarms of W&H went off simultaneously. As soon as "dimensional jam" wards fell, Harry started divining Xander's position. American was meanwhile planting DD in the ventilation shaft. English wizard appeared behind him, clicked the remote to activate it and teleported away with his partner. Then there were a dozen jumps all over California to hide the trace, but in less than an hour they already sat in a small Irish bar in San Francisco.

-By the way, what was in the capsule? - inquired Xander Harris, sipping his ale.

-Ethantiol. The worst smelling and one of the most volatile compounds around. Will take weeks to remove stench from every office. That's why "inner beauty"- their moral qualities are now in strong correlation with aura of the building.-

Xander laughed. Harry hardly ever swore, but was pretty keen on indirect offence, like comparing one's "inner beauty" to world's worst stink ever.

-So, what are we doing next?-

-I actually thought we could set up Headquarters before we do any more jobs. Thou we have several suggestions of interest if you are that keen on action. Retrieval of an artifact in Prague. Political career assassination in London. Secret data retrieval from private facility in Moscow. Industrial espionage in New York. Yeah, and military activity investigation in a place called "Sunnydale".-

-Let's put off Sunnydale for as long as possible.-

-No place like home?-

-Hell, yes.-

It happens sometimes like that: you're on top on the world. Not that you've ever asked for it, but you're of age, handsome, rich, famous and you just banished your worst enemy into outer space. You wake up in hospital after committing the latter feat only to overhear that you're about to be placed "under protective custody" by Cornelius Fudge, current Minister of Magic in order to create an illusion that you support him and cover up his major screw-ups. It doesn't take terribly much effort to give your guards a slip and run for your freedom. You manage to get your stuff and try to meet your friends- only to find Auror ambush on the meeting place. Yesterday friends mumble about "your own good" and refuse to look your eyes. It happens sometimes: you're all alone in the world and can go anywhere you like. You're free of love, free of hate and free of fate. You roam the world: bungee-jump off Eifel tower, eat "magical muffins" in Amsterdam, gamble in Monte-Carlo, taste crocodile in Berlin zoo, hitch-hike from Warsaw to Vladivostok climb Great Wall of China and Mount Fuji. You end up in a small pub (thou yanks call it bar) in the middle of nowhere between California and Nevada.

It happens sometimes like that: the world hates you. You have no job, no money for college, no girlfriend and list of enemies as long as you hand. For some time you were a part of Scooby gang, fighting whatever goes bump in the night over Hellmouth. Then local Slayer's watcher gets fired and departed from the country and a new one comes over. First things don't seem too bad, but you notice that you and your friends slowly grow apart. Slayer is encouraged to be the leader or an "alpha" as Oz eloquently puts it. You are less frequently invited for patrolling, as are others from the 'old crew'. Ascension brings you together for some time, but it only works until Mayor is dead. After Graduation you have a loud row about "you not understanding" and Scooby gang is effectively no more. You go on a summer road trip, only to get stuck in a small town between good ol' CF and Nevada.

It begins as a game of poker. In a two versus two game you team up with a traveling Englishman and simply wipe the floor with any other team, breaking all the laws of probability in the place. Your trip continues but now you have money and partner that attracts luck and is a cool wizard. In Vegas you accidentally clean up a mafia man, who gets furious and tries to shoot you in public. Police gets him locked up and thanks you. Then another "man with influence" asks you for a favor of setting up one of his colleagues. You two ace the operation and get him caught with unregistered gun, for which you swap his gun. Your first customer is content with that, especially as this gun is known to be used in several assassinations. That night is full of alcohol, gambling and four beautiful thrill seekers with thick southern accent. Next morning you wake up as Axe and Ache, masters of Special Assignments.

"Dusty vine" mansion stood proudly half a mile from the seashore only several miles away from Portishead. On a busy day it didn't take more than several hours to get to Brighton and Cardiff was just over the Mouth of the Seven, not more than two dozen miles away. It was surrounded by gardens, supported by an old house elf that belonged to Potter family. Vines climbed the walls of the mansion, obscuring it from the view.

-M, yeah. Warding will take up a week, planting all the needed plants will take five more days. How long will the construction take?-

-If we get several of these hose-thingies…-

-…house-elves…-

-…whatever, with their help we can deal with most things in four to six days. Then two-three days to set up network and security systems. We need to find security and IT specialists to install their stuff thou.-

-I think I could find several specialists to do the job and not drop a word about it, some old contacts of mine. And probably you'll need a trip to US to get guns and other funs, like chemicals and herbs, - UK is horrible about that. I'll get blades, books and mojo stuff in Europe. After we finish, you can have your time off, say, visit Sunnydale secretly.-

-Gee, thanks, but no, thanks. I'll see ol' London, maybe look up that contract. Money wouldn't earn itself.-


	2. Chapter 2

Yay, reviews! Thank you all very much

Disclaimer: see chapter 1.

Chapter 2. Point of perception.

Young man in a white mask with floating inkblots (fans could recognize Rorschach garb from "Watchmen" graphic novel) sat at the back room of muggle pub called "Broken Drum". Amos Diggory could only determine man's age by his hands: yet not as wide and hardened as those of an older man of his complexion, but already rich in latent scarring of a person, who had his hands systematically cut or beaten to blood. Just from his hands, Amos could deduce that negotiator was not a wizard- no wizard except maybe oldest aurors, could have had such rough hands. Thou Diggory did not have illusions about how dangerous was this man- he had a fluid walk of a predator and his every move could turn into strike far quicker than a wizard would draw his wand.

-So, you were seeking our assistance, Mr. Diggory. I assume you are not going to try anything foolish, like summon aurors or try to draw your wand. I would not appreciate the gesture and you would not appreciate the following experience. So, how can we be of use for you?-

-I represent a group of respected people of the high power in British magical world, - Amos began.

–During recent events with self-proclaimed lord V-voldemort the balance of power has shifted multiple times and current minister is trying really hard to stay in power. Unfortunately his actions and policy are… less than beneficial for our world. Currently we are on the verge of new war with goblins, werewolf rebellion and economic crisis due to lack of production. Law Enforcement and magical research budgets have been repeatedly cut down, so now we have neither resource nor strategic advantage in case of any major conflict. In other words, due to policies of current Minister, our world is crumbling. And our group is dedicated to prevent that course of events. Currently minister is trying to prove to public that support of ministry was essential for war effort. Most frequent are his stories of Harry Potter supporting him as a leader. Currently we require your assistance to locate forenamed young gentleman and convince him to help us discredit Cornelius Fudge. –

-That's… interesting, - young man glanced at the ceiling, as if trying to focus on something above.

-This is going to be hard, troublesome but challenging. If I remember it right, last time Harry Potter was sighted in San Francisco, trashing gay parade. Hmmm… it could be that… Why not? Anyway. I think I know where we can find his trace. Now, about payment…-

Diggory put down a tissue on the table and scribed a number on it, putting sterling symbol in front. Negotiate scribed another one, about trice higher. They settled for double original payment.

Xander walked into a greenhouse and tapped Harry, who was planting some twisted root, on the shoulder.

-Mission accomplished.-

-What? - Harry turned to his accomplice.

-New contract is to find some Harry Potter and to convince him to spoil some fudge. Mission accomplished, - Xander grinned.

-Really? Well, that's convenient. I take it, we make a false trail that you follow for some time and then I turn up…

-On 31st of August on Re-elect Fudge public speech. I think one "sighting" would be enough, if you make up some fancy story to tell. You know, to really make your point.-

-By the way, who did you meet? I suppose one of Dumbledore's crowd.-

-One Amos Diggory, - Harry's expression darkened. –What's wrong with it?-

-Nothing. Just… His son was the first victim of the Second War. I remember his death.-

-That's not a healthy way of living, Harry, remembering people by deaths.-

-You have no idea, Xander Harris. You have nou i-dea… - Young mage shook his head and went back to planting.

-So what's up? Not that I'm trying to dig some dirt, but perspective of you psyching up and murdering everyone in vicinity with a fork does not make me warm and tingly. Cause if you keep locking it up inside, one day you're gonna lose it.-

-It's not that, - wizard did not look up from the plant he was handling.

-Then what's it?-

-Every second I talk to you, this planet travels eighteen and a half miles. Several children are born. Several people die. Irreversible events happen all the time, changing matter, energy and information in every spot of the world. Every second the world is scarred by events- from a thought to explosion of atomic bomb. I see every and each one of those scars. I know why people act as they do; how machines work as they happen to; how living matter remains that way; how magic flows through space and time. And that's why I know that I'm not going insane- I've seen myself in the mirror and I know how I work, what tinkles in my head. It's not broken, just too strained in there.-

Xander had a horrible sinking feeling in his stomach: young man in front of him not only suffered through his life, but also through everyone's he saw. Even his.

-But.. why?-

-We are not too different, Alexander, maybe that's why I can stand you. I can't stand, say, Cornelius Fudge, because I see what kind of SoB he is. Or on average three out of five pureblood wizards. Or most lawyers. When you speak of Amos Diggory, I see a man, who lost his only son to monster and dedicated his life to not letting something like this repeat again.

-And when you see Voldemort?-

-I don't see him, - Harry suddenly had a smug grin on his face. –He's a shard of ice, drifting towards Mars at the moment. Not too much to see. –

Xander smirked.

-I thought it was a joke.-

-So did he, X, so did he. But accelerating beyond escape velocity of the Earth spoils one's sense of humor.-

31st of August was a grim and windy day, but it didn't stop a large group of people from gathering at the Diagon alley to listen to Minister Fudge's speech. There were reporters, preparing to take notes. There were people, who came there just to be entertained. There were those, who bought up the supplies for new Hogwarts year and just got stuck in here.

The minister of magic went to the tribune and one of his flunkies cast "Sonorous" for him.

-Fellow citizens of magical Britain! Today we came here to talk about the Great War, that our world had endured, of heroes who fought the great evil and of people who worked hard for this victory…-

-…And about those, who desecrate their memory by using it as slogan material, - came a voice from above. A figure in white was slowly drifting down from the sky, clearly planning to land on the stage not too far from minister. The crowd gasped as they watched the figure descend. The first one to recognize him was Rita Skeeter.

-It's Potter!-

-Nice that someone still remembers my face, one would think that with my name used as it is, I'd become something esoteric and unpersonified. –

Fudge finally regained composure and hissed: "Get him" to his personal guards. They drew wands and tried to cast something, but not a sparkle came out. Harry frowned at them, as if disbelieving the skill level of Minister's bodyguards. Wizards looked embarrassed.

-Sorry, but I still have something to say, before I leave Magical world. There truths, that must have been revealed long ago, there are prophesies that are to be spoken, there are farewells.

This story started around a half century ago, when a weak witch of an old lineage, Merope Gaunt, used a love potion on a muggle aristocrat Tomas Riddle. They became involved; Merope got pregnant and stopped giving love potion to Riddle. Once his eyes opened, Tom banished the witch from his house. Some nine months later Merope died, giving birth to Tom Marvolo Riddle. He grew up in an orphanage, in neglect of both muggle and magical world, where he saw all the cruelty that they could inflict upon him. He was a wizard and once he was eleven, he was invited to Hogwarts. He went there with all hope and thirst of knowledge he had, trying to prove that he was worth something; he wanted to change the world so that there would be no one to face what he did… But once he entered the new world, world of magic, he was told that as he was not a pureblood, he was not worth a damn. He tried the best he could, better than anyone of his age could. By fifth year he was a prefect and was going to be the head boy. He thought it counted for something… Naïve he was then. After career meeting with ministry officials he came to his room in state of shock. All his achievements, abilities and skills were valued lower than status of an incompetent, but pureblood student. All his efforts were for nothing. This was when he turned dark. In a year Chamber of Secrets is opened and one of pureblood students is killed by basilisk. Tom Riddle averts suspicion from himself to other student and gets awarded for "catching the culprit". Inside, he laughs at "those dumb purebloods", whom he deceives with offensive ease. By his graduation he has delved in darkest magic and committed four more murders, for none of which he is even questioned. Again, he evades justice. For following years he travels world, steals powerful artifacts, murders and delves deeper and deeper into the dark. We learn of him in early seventies. His new name is an anagram of Tom Marvolo Riddle. 'I am Lord Voldemort.' Now he's out for vengeance to all: to muggles that hurt him, to purebloods, who crushed his dreams, to everyone else, because they just watched it happen. He recruits purebloods by stimulating their egos, by telling them what they want to hear. And they go, they wreak havoc in a half-blood's fictional name and they die one by one. Many of them are last heirs and so many noble names sound no more after this. But what's worst' they're slowly, but steadily winning. A small group of fanatics wins over magical world with relative ease. By luck, in late October 1981 his body is destroyed by a spell of muggleborn witch Lily Evans and toddler's amount of magical power. It took as much. Then so-called 'social justice' is inflicted upon survivors: about a half of the felons buy their way out of jail, several people are thrown to Azkaban without a trial or just terminated. No good deed remains unpunished, no sin remains uncherished.

Thirteen years later Wizarding world is back to square one: Voldemort is among the living again and a group of fanatics, many of whom are just back from Azkaban Spa, beat ministry point after point. Ministry not only denies return of the Dark Lord, but also makes sure no one is capable of protecting themselves. Everyone who speaks out of 'party line' gets penalized or tortured- depending on the age. Of course, adults can only be penalized, but student can always be tamed by a bit of torture, can't he, Ms Umbridge, Lady High Inquisitor of Hogwarts? But that's beside the point. Once Dark Lord's return is undeniable, ministry makes up a ridiculous story to keep people calm and refuses to conduct elections due to political instability. Next four years are even worse a failure than the First War: Auror force budget is cut down, as is that of Department of Mysteries. Rest of the departments simulate activity and get into every and each other's way. New disaster is slowly coming. Unfortunately, before the Wizarding world is stricken down, Voldemort is vanquished, this time- forever. Many people die in process, most of which could have lived if the Ministry did something right for a start. That's how the story ends.

So who's to blame for falling of Tom Riddle, for victims of wars and victims of aftermath justice if not Ministry, standards and policies of which were conducted by Minister Fudge for so many years? Who's to blame, if not those, who mould promising and powerful wizards into Dark Lords by denying them any opportunity to take their place in this world?

The world I see now is not a one where I'd let a child grow, were it my child or my enemy's. And hear my prophesy: If this world does not change, new Dark Lords will rise, one worse than other. And I won't bother fighting them as long as the leave me alone. The world I see today deserves every torment that can be inflicted on it.

Before leaving, I want to name several people. Cedric Diggory, true Hogwarts champion, the first victim of the Second War. Farewell. Sirius Black, my godfather, who fought to protect this world despite it was against him. Alastor Moody, fighter till the last moment. Remus and Nymphadora Lupin, faithful beyond bounds of life. Farewell. And the living ones: Amelia Bones, Amos Diggory and Algernon Croaker, who fought despite having no chance, hope or means; Fred and George Weasly, who did not lose spirit in the hardest of times; Xenophilius and Luna Lovgood, who told the truth, no matter how ridiculous it was, Minerva McGonagall, Filius Flitwick, Pomona Sprout, Severus Snape, Rubeus Hagrid, Aurora Sinistra, Septima Vector, Romilda Hooch and Bathsheba Babbling who let us have our future, despite our best efforts. Farewell.-

With that, Harry Potter turned into a cloud of sparkles and was there no more. Silence hung above Diagon alley.

-Do you really believe that ol' Tommyboy was a heart broken child?- asked Xander several hours later, when they were depleting Harry's stash of wine.

-He either was, or was not. If he was, I've probably brought a bit of peace to his soul, so I've done a good deed. If he is not, then he is just egocentric bloodthirsty megalomaniac, so pity and compassion will torment him post mortem worse than any hell, hence I've done a good deed. Win-win situation. Plus, have you seen the looks of Fudge's hoard of brownnosers? Bloody hilarious. Ex- death lickers looked fun too. You see- no offense, just correctly put stresses and Fudge starts getting sweaty, old crowd gets pulled through the mud, some people are hurt by omission and Snape is fuming as he is being thanked by me of all people. -

-Why's that?-

-Sev loves his childish hate more than anything in his life. When I did not understand it, I hated him back, hence gave a good response to his hate. Now that I don't really bother expressing my dislike of him, he feels that his strong feelings are in vain and it hurts him bad. You would be amazed how people nurture some their feelings- pride, joy, hate, curiosity. It's not bad, just normal. Just human.-


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: See Chapter1.

Author's Note: Sorry for the delay in publication. I've just got a new job and it took a hell of time to adjust to it. Now I'm back.

Chi Vayne, I see your point, and Churchill's for that matter, but that's not precisely truth rather than a story that sounds like reality and pulls right strings. It's merely an answer to the Second Great Question: "Who's to blame?"

Thank you, everyone for reviewing, please keep on doing so=)

Chapter 3. Axe and clay

Early September was slowly conquering parks and squares of old Prague, gently adding a tone of yellow to the coarse palette of the city. Xander sat in a small restaurant "U Kalicha" in the center of Prague. A pint of Velkopopovicky Kozel stood in front of him untouched- he didn't want to drink right before the meeting with the client occurred, but a guy without a drink would look off-place here. Currently he had a usual tourist outfit, even a cheap soapbox camera laid on the table, thou anyone with magical sensitivity could have told that it was merely a disguise- American had at least a dozen amulets on himself, ranging from standard travelling gear to perception filters, magic sensors and protections of different kinds. No one could really pay attention to his appearance: something distracted common folk from him all the time. It was a powerful illusion that created miscellaneous distractions on the borderline of perception, thou usually people in magical secret ops used something analogous to warding, making themselves indescribable like a property could be made unplotable.

-May I sit down here,- a young woman with similar tourist look came to his table. –Human density seems low enough here.-

The weird phrase "human density" was a password they established for the meeting.

-It's a free country, as far as I heard.-

-Good to know,- woman sat down and called waiter. She ordered her lunch without looking at the menu which did not surprise young man. Xander suspected that at least some of the staff were aware of unusual status of people coming here sometimes. Woman took a small object out of her pocket and put it on the table. It was a pyramid, carved out of pitch-black stone, with hieroglyphs on four sides.

-This way we won't be heard. I assume, your company will agree to sign non-disclosure act?-

-We value our reputation. No one will hear a word about it from us and I am authorized to sign any documents to insure that.-

-Okay. I work for certain international group, called Keepers of Seals. All you need to know is that our facility in Prague was broken into and an artifact was stolen from it, Sphere of Aurelius. It contains a spirit of medieval dark sorcerer, Sebastian Travier of Travier clan that was destroyed four centuries ago. Facility was heavily warded so that no living creature could get inside it, that's why the assailant, Dr Vlad Kashenko sent a golem after it. Golem is a clay doll, possessed by spirit from beyond, so it is not living and defense was breached by it. Golem retrieved the artifact and went back to his master, but demented sorcerer's spirit took over the doll and killed its former master. Then it escaped into the Labyrinth under Old Prague. We monitor all the exits and we are still sure that it is still down there. Bad part is that it absorbs all magic, directed towards it. In theory, it could wander the underground for several centuries, feeding on all the magic that is trapped under Prague. So we could not hire mercenaries or use military to destroy body of golem and retrieve the Sphere as it requires knowledge of magic's existence and experience of dealing with it, could not assign any kind of mage to it as it would have been a snack for them. Our own security service, despite being professional, is not suitable for this as it strongly relies on ambient magic abilities. Rogue demon hunters are unreliable at best. That's why we need your assistance: you have qualifications, reliability and reputation of a successful group. Just what we need.-

Xander did his best not to wince at an obvious flattery. Or her avoiding the direct answer. Or her attempt to place a 'bug' onto him.

-So, you're asking us to dig through the underground labyrinth that puts Cretean to shame, furthermore filled with magical waste and what not, find a magekiller action figure, possessed by some ancient weirdo and take it apart in order to take out some toy and give it to you. Quite a risk, I'd say.-

Xander deliberately spoke so casually, trying to make an expression of an ignorant mercenary. Harry warned him against showing any government agents his true potential. Xander knew that young wizard was rather paranoid than cautious in relation to the subject, but still took his advise seriously.

-We agree to your usual price. It will be paid in jewels, in exchange for the Sphere. No banks, no cash, no trace. Simple enough?-

-Just about,- Xander grinned. –I will need info on the district where it was last seen. Some up-to-date knowledge about its location could also do. Here is my cell phone number,- Xander scribed his newly purchased number on a piece of tissue.

-Contact me closer to the dark and give me the info. I'll get my stuff and go for hunt. Call me tomorrow morning and we'll deal with exchange.-

Saying that, Xander put down several notes and activated portkey it his pocket.

-How was it?- asked Harry without looking up from his grimoire.

-Nice. But she still tried to bug me,- smiled Xander. –Hopefully, she would notice something funny on her shoe pretty soon.-

-That's healthy paranoia for you. So, our 'case' is a magic- draining golem, possessed by an evil mad sorcerer. Just cute. I'll ready a non-magical equipment set for you. –

-You're not coming?- asked the American.

-I'd be more of hindrance in this case than of help. Furthermore, you could use a bit of warm-up for your skills.-

-So could you.-

-Mine are at the top, don't you worry,- green-eyed young man faintly smiled. –Guy Fawkes Mask would do, right?-

-"There's no flesh or blood within this cloak to kill, there's only an idea. Ideas are bulletproof,"(1)- quoted Xander.

-Right, then get some rest- night's gonna rock.-

Xander shook his head. He nearly started forgetting about his "best of luck" karma. As if that could happen.

-They lost it,- he whispered into his communicator. –Around Staré Město or rather underneath it. Now there's no trace of it. But it didn't leave the tunnels- they have quite a lockup here.-

-Okay, plan B. I just picked this stuff up and really hoped that we'll do without it, but as a wise man said "If in the first act you have hung a pistol on the wall, then in the following one it should be fired"(2). I'll call back in an hour.-

Harry finished the chant and stopped to regain his breath. Preparation for the ritual was not hard- merely a power direction and storage structures, but the hard part was still to come. He took a dagger and made a thin cut on his hand.

-By my will of caster I summon thy power, Hecate. By my birth right I bind thee to my spell. By my sacrifice- my blood- I pay the price for my wish. Amen.-

With the last word the ritual circle flared and a giant surge of power went through the air. It widened and in a minute covered the whole city of Prague. Harry could feel the colossal pressure onto his mind the spell was causing, but still managed to keep it going. Then the surge vanished and he collapsed on the floor panting. It took another minute to gather enough strength to pull out a cell and make a call.

-It's in the Prašná brána, on the very top. Hurry, it slipped through the lockdown and started some serious charging. Ache out.-

Then darkness claimed him and young mage collapsed.

It was quite an unusual sight even for tourist-filled city: a man in a hat, mask and cloak sprinting through the streets, holding something, vaguely resembling a double axe. Xander internally smiled as he was in a Guy Fawkes suit, charging to 'gunpowder tower', Prašná brána. Remember indeed. (3)

While running up the old stone stairs Xander unsheathed the battleaxe and made two practice swashes to get used to the balance of the instrument. Reaching the top floor, he kicked the door and charged in, making a huge swing. Golem managed to turn around in time to try to block the blow with its hand. Xander could only notice a hammer in its hand, when axe crashed through the clay body and went to the unprotected head of the construct. The sight of the head terrified him, but his weapon could no longer be stopped from reaching its aim. It was a face. Primitive, as if a child tried to make a doll of clay but didn't have enough patience to finish it.

"The first thing it wanted was just a face. Just being somebody, not something. Just a face,"- thought ran through his mind. Then the world exploded.

Vision slowly returned to Xander. It was dark, he was cold and mask felt like it was crashed into his face. Most probably, because it was. Xander coughed and sat up. The dust was up in the room but he still managed to notice radiance of Sphere of Aurelius. His clothes were torn and burned but still covered the most vital parts. Xander stood up and caught the wall, trying to stop the world from spinning. In a minute it actually did and American managed to regain composure. Then he picked up his weapon and the artifact and slowly walked out of the room.

A portkey was stashed in a pipe several blocks away. Xander picked it up and whispered: "Dusty vine" and disappeared from sight. A figure in a dark cloak nodded to itself and followed the suit.

(1)- "V for Vendetta", vol. 9, by Alan Moore and David Lloyd

(2) From Gurlyand's Reminiscences of A. P. Chekhov, in Teatr i iskusstvo 1904, No 28, 11 July, p. 521.

(3) Reference to the british poem "Remember, remember the fifth of November, the Gunpowder treason and plot…" which talks of Guy Fawkes' attempt to blow up English parliament and the King. Also mentioned in "V for Vendetta" graphic novel.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: See chapter 1

Spoiler: the dark is rising, the light's meddling.

Spoiler2: Sunyhell coming at the episode 74.

Author's Note: Dunno when finish chapter 5- sunny hell lot of work to do as project deadline is on Friday. Hope your reviews will help me do it earlier rather than later.

Chapter 4. Power walk.

-Suprisingly good,- admitted Xander Harris, tasting a cup of coffee. –Shame they don't serve doughnuts with it.-

They sat in a small café in Venice and passed their teatime as city was dragging through particularly hot siesta. Café was dryer and cooler than Venetian midday and they spent over an hour bickering, trading old battle stories and tasting just about any drink the establishment could supply except coffee, yet. Now they got as far on their quest for sensory entertainment.

-X-man, you're a barbarian.-

-H-man, you're a copycat.-

-At least I don't want to spoil one of so few good cups of coffee in this place with this crime against culinary.-

-Speak of crimes against culinary, Englishman, - parried Californian.

-Touché. If you're so glucose deficient, try tiramisu- I hear they make a really good one here. Anyway, what's the fuss?-

-You know, that thing in Prague? When I got smashed and you practiced self-abuse?-

-A, it was a magical discharge, not smashing. Getting smashed is a different thing. B, I needed my blood for the ritual that shouldn't have worked at all and just got carried away, no big deal.

-Yeah, no big, whatever. By the way, I thought that thing eats mojo for lunch?-

-But the rest of Prague doesn't. So I had to fill the whole city with my magic and see where it is gets eaten. Actually, that's what needed so much pressure.-

-Kinda far-fetched, if you ask me. Thou that's not the point. Point is…-

-…you need some kind of power. Yes, I thought that too.-

Xander gave young mage a sour look. Being read as a book was not nicest of feelings, but Xander knew that if Harry could help it, he wouldn't use it.

-Your perceptiveness is such a pain sometimes.-

-Tell me about,- Harry rolled his eyes. –So, what kind of thing did you want?-

-What's possible? You know, I could remember a thing of two from Marvel I'd like to have.-

-And I know of just about any supernatural trait or ability in existence. And most I either can teach or know someone who definitely can. –

-Really? Okay, how can one get, say, superman power.-

-Super-strength and super-speed are demonic aspects that can be transfused through prolonged exposure to some extent. Levitation is taught in Temple of Windriders in Tibet. X-ray vision is one of the techniques of Temple of Thirteenth Sense, in Bhubaneswar. Invulnerability is a combination of mystical toughness and regeneration demonic aspects, thou they sometimes occur in humans. Anything else?-

-So there are actually Temples that teach this stuff?-

-Most mystical traditions have those. I know at least three dozen different traditions and have been to temples of the most.-

-Okay, moving on. All these things can be trained?-

-Most. Your friend Willow, as far as I know, managed to obtain magical ability despite lack of natural gift, which is thought to be impossible by most wizards. So yes, everything is possible, but only at a price usually. Time, effort, pain, sacrifice and more. -

-What's the price for becoming… say, Jedi?- asked Xander, trying to hide his excitement.

-Precognition is pretty easy- closest Temple of Third Eye is in the Alps. Force-sense and force-visions are taught in the Temple of Thirteenth Sense. Device is a bit hard, but nothing good technomage can't handle. I think an enchanter from Stairfield can cope with this. Construction will take several weeks, but I can contact her as soon as we're back on the Isles. Healing is taught in Reiki tradition; best to get tutelage in Japan for it. Mind trick is a form of projecting empathy, taught in Temple of Norse Way together with some other funny tech. Sword fighting Temples are pretty common, there are more than a dozen of those. Telekinesis is the hardest, but there's a way for it too, not that I like it. So, training… Several months to years to reach ordinary Jedi level with good discipline. Plus martial expenses- these guys don't work for free, but we can afford it.-

-Brilliant,- Xander grinned. There were things that every Star Wars fan dreamed of, thou most wouldn't admit it. –Now to the second matter. I believe we need more staff. There's only so many bases two people can cover at once.-

-Fair point, but I think this problem will handle itself soon enough. Karma,- green-eyed mage smiled.

-Then that's handled. What do we do next?-

-Sunnyhell. It looks like weird military activity got a bit weirder. Some people I know pass on that they trained up some SWAT-like group of hunters and now they gather pretty much research material. This stage would be relatively uneventful. I can foretell that we can lay down till Christmas and handle your training meanwhile. Nothing will happen there till then and I highly doubt that other contracts are worth our effort. So, I'd say, we go to Bhubaneswar and get you some proper schooling.-

******

-Albus, nice to see you,- said the newly elected Minister for Magic Amos Diggory.

-Nice to see you too, Amos. How is your new place?-

-Work is hard but I manage.-

-Good to hear,- old wizard gave the man grandfathery smile. –Could I inquire how did you convince Harry to take part in your election campaign?-

Amos did his best not to show his concern about such a question. He knew that before Harry's disappearance Albus and he had some kind of loud argument. Witnesses mentioned young mage call Dumbledore "control freak" and "manipulative old goat". Amos knew that the boy was reasonable so he suspected there was a reason for such harsh words. Hence, helping Albus find him was not the best of ideas.

-I did not. I hired some specialists to locate and convince him. They succeeded, but I have no idea on how they did it or where he is now.-

-I see. And who exactly did you contact?

-Axe& Ache.-

***************

-Welcome to the Bhubaneswar, city of Temples,- declared Harry as they walk out of small alley to the square in front of Lingaraj complex. Xander stared at the giant building open-mouthed. From Harry's briefing he knew that temple was more than a thousand years old and magnificence of the structure amazed him.

-Let's go, this place is hard to find.-

-I thought you knew where it is.-

-I've been there several times. It's somewhere on this square but due to enchantments it travels from spot to spot and you have to either sense or look for it. Neither of us can sense it, so we'll have to search old-fashioned way.-

The city of Bhubaneswar was flooded with tourists, street sellers and, amazingly, trees. Xander had been to other large cities before, but it looked like Indian giant was the greenest amongst those. He did not really know what to seek and just followed Potter, who seemed to have lots of fun on his 'quest for glory'. Finally, the mage stopped and Xander just about crashed into him. All he could see was a plain wooden door badly painted green.

-Are we there yet?- asked American with a smile.

-Yup. A door in the wall. (1) Or not so white- Wells didn't know much of the modern smog so we can't blame him.-

-We can, but what's the point?- joked Xander. It took him a minute to calm down and make the first step to his destiny.

**********

-No, Albus.-

-Nice to see you too, Severus.-

-I'm not going to search for him. Never.-

-Would you let me come in, Severus?-

-As soon as I've seen the article I knew- you'll come and try to coerce me into searching the blasted boy!-

-You have to understand, Severus…-

-Albus, he told me that day that "if our paths cross again, there'd be one Snape less and one pile of gore more". I remember his joke about Lucius being spread too thin and how Malfoy looked after Gravitational Collapse Curse. I don't want to check if he was joking, Albus. Goodbye.-

**********

-Is it really you, Albus?-

-Berlin, April 1945.-

Sturdy door opened and Dumbledore saw old scarred Auror aiming a wand in his general direction.

-Right, come in, quick.-

Auror let the Hogwarts Headmaster in and shut the door behind him.

-So, Albus, why would you be coming to my humble home?- asked the Auror after conjuring two cups of tea.

-I need your help, Alastor. I'm sure you know about Harry.-

-You need to be a bit less general. I know quite a bit about him.-

-He's on the run from our world like a reckless kid. We must bring him back before he turns into another Tom Riddle.-

-So, no rush?- chuckled Moody.

-I'm serious here, Alastor.-

-You're not Sirius, you're Albus. But jokes aside, I don't believe there's a chance of that happening. If he wanted power he could have gotten it on the past election and he'd have been the youngest minister in history. And if he wanted to get more fame of skilled fighter, he could have topped the dueling championships- I'm sure he wouldn't need to use any dark powers to do it. Boy knows every dirty trick in my book and it's largest in Europe. I neither want nor can help you with this, Albus.-

-Sorry to hear this, Alastor. I'm afraid there are matters that require my presence elsewhere. Goodday, my friend.-

-Good indeed, Albus.-

**********

-Come in, Professor.-

-Nice to see you, Mrs Lupin.-

-You too, Professor. How are you?-

-Same old. How's Remus?-

-He's off teaching. After that trip to Tibet he was so keen on bringing this technique to British werewolves. Now he's recruiting his first study group.-

-Good to hear. Unfortunately, I cannot say that there's anything of such kind about Harry.-

-I don't think it's a good topic, sir. My pledge to the House of Black won't let me talk or act against the current Head of House, even if I wanted to. Let's change the subject.-

**********

Headmaster Dumbledore spent most of his evening trying to find X&H advert in the corresponding section of Prophet. Finally, he managed to locate a small note.

-You've got to be bloody kidding,- swore the old wizard after reading it.

"X&H Inc. declares that due to staff training the company will not be taking any contracts till the end of the year. Sorry for inconvenience caused."

**********

-Yes, master, I've seen them enter the Temple in Bhubaneswar. One was a mage and another was Fateless. –

-That's unfortunate,- hissed a figure in a grey cloak. –There's a high chance of them opening the way to the Old Temple. We'll need to attack the temple tonight. Assemble the adepts, acolyte. Ph'nglui mglw'nafh C'thulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn!-

- C'thulhu fhtagn!-

(1)- reference to the story "A door in the wall" by Herbert Wells


	5. Chapter 5

Author's Note: Phew, this mad week's over. A bit more action comes.

Please, R&R. I can't improve if I don't know what's lacking.

Chapter 5. Smashing day

-Nice to see you again, master Potter,- said a large tanned man in heavily accented English.

-Nice to see you in good health, master Lingam,-smiled the young mage. –It looks like I brought you a student this time. Did you introduce 'finder's fee' system by any chance? –

-Not really. But I could give discount on tea,- grinned the mystic.

-Better than nothing. Anyway, I think he could get through initiation tonight and then we'll get some practice in Japan-we have many things to cover and not terribly much time. –

-Shame you won't stay for the Night of Shiva. But business is business, I understand.-

Xander knew nothing of the "urgent business in Japan" but from Harry's behavior he understood that it was this "Night of Shiva" that mage wanted to miss.

-Then, young man, you should go to the Labyrinth and wander there until we call you. That's a part of initiation,- said master Lingam.

-You can leave your axe with me, but take daggers and pistol with you. It's a magical place, many things can happen here.-

***********

Xander stumbled down the dungeon, one definitely more tidy than Sunnydale underground tunnels. It was lit with faintly glowing crystals on the ceiling and walls were finely cut out of some kind of limestone. In a perfect labyrinth in order to find a way out you need to select one of your hands and walk forwards while touching the wall with this hand, Xander remembered. This way is frequently the longest, but also the surest. Unfortunately he could not know if this one was perfect but he still had time to waste, so he stretched out his left hand and went on.

He could not say if he was walking for minutes, hours or day through this maze- there were no sun or clocks in the place, he didn't feel tired or hungry. There were only walls, just walls and nothing but walls around him. At one point Xander understood how the labyrinth went on further- he could describe every wall, every turn of it then. And he knew that he was getting close to something. To the Solution of the maze.

Xander blinked. The walls have ended, opening into a passageway and the illusion faded. He walked on into a large hall with lit center. There was an altar there and on it a long sword laid. Xander was not much of expert on weapons, but he could feel the power of the blade, its sharpness, its song on cleaving the air. In a matter of seconds , American found himself holding the blade.

Only then he noticed that he was surrounded by skeletons. Each of those was holding a blade like his. Xander swore- it was so much like a magical trap. He could see himself charging forwards and cleaving through the undead. He could see himself turning back and attacking those he didn't get with the first blow. He could see himself falling, a dagger in his back. Xander shook off the vision and went forwards as he saw it. Step forward, a feeling of dark glee coming from right in front of him, faint shadow of figure, nearly invisible to the eye. Strike. The only real skeleton in this room lost its invisibility and fell to ground in pieces. Illusionary figures vanished.

Xander looked around and noticed the pathway that went up. He walked towards it, clutching the sword in his hand.

*********

The cultists have attacked swiftly and confidently, killing three and severely wounding another four guards. There were more than two dozen of them and they had good skill with double swords they used. Unfortunately for them, Harry Potter was there and keen on having some fun.

The difference between High Mage and a wizard is about the same as difference between wooden and metal sword. One can hurt and the other will hurt for sure. One will be handy and the other will be crucial. One will leave chance of survival- the other will not.

The first cultist coming towards him sailed through the air and crashed into two of his own. They could not dodge a flaming sphere and were hit squarely. Another fighter made a swing at him, but mage dodged and sent a dagger into his chest. Cultist fell and an explosive hex went right over him, catching another cultist unaware. An acolyte in a dark robe moved towards him and made a feinting strike. That left a scratch on Harry's hand and mage rolled away. Potter sent a cutting curse at his new opponent, but it dissipated before touching him.

-Yar vik majik is nating ta mer!- laughed the acolyte seeing mage's amazement. Harry flicked wrists to draw a pair of daggers which flew into his hands and moved to fencing stance. Cultist smiled and swung the double sword using it as a spear, then from below with the second blade aiming for the stomach. Harry flipped back, barely managing to escape. Then English mage threw a dagger with his left hand, which cultist easily dodged and switched to a defensive stance. Acolyte rose his blade to strike and… fell down with a dagger in his back. Mage only threw dagger to telekinetically backstab his foe with it.

Xander walked into the hall only to notice a huge fight going on. Some guys in dark cloaks attacked the mystics, who defended well. He could see master Lingam and several other fighters moving through their enemies like a hot knife through butter, striking them down with deadly precision. He could see Harry in his Mincer Man mode. He could see a couple of cultists, hiding under some kind of magical cover, sneak towards younger mystics. He sneaked behind them and stabbed two of them before they could think of resisting. Another two panicked and activated emergency portkeys. It started a wave of escapes as other fighters started to vanish too. The fallen have mainly vanished too except those whose portkeys suffered from irreversible damage.

-Well, that was fun,-Xander smiled weakly while wiping the blood off the blade with his sleeve

-Sure, it was. Shame we don't have anyone to question,- replied Harry. He drew his wand and whispered several common spells to remove blood stains and patch his clothes up. Meanwhile, mystics recollected themselves, healers were called and Masters of the Temple were trying to control the process of cleanup. In another dozen of minutes, when hall was nearly empty, everyone was on their place and Xander finished his stash of brandy, master Lingam walked towards travelers and smiled.

-Thank you for your help in this battle. Tonight we shall thank Shiva for this challenge and wish our fallen brothers light in their new lives. I see, young man, you've managed to get out of labyrinth. You'll have to agree, that dark passage was a challenge. You have achieved second rank so quickly, congratulations.-

-What dark passage. I walked through the labyrinth using 'maze rule' entered the hall with invisible guard, picked up the sword and walked out of it straight into here.-

-What's this 'maze rule'? –

-You know, if you walk through the maze keeping one same hand on the wall all the time, you'll definitely get out. It only works on plain mazes thou. Willow once told me that. It had something to do with some 'patology', 'graph' and 'theory'.-

-Ah, topology works of Euler and graph theory. Never knew it had something to do with mazes. Well then, how did you find the way here?-

-The pathway is here,- Xander pointed into the archway. Mystic and mage gave him similarly blank looks. Then Harry clapped his forehead and laughed.

-That's what I keep feeling- Fidelius!-

-What?-

-Fidelius, the Trust charm. The bearer of the sword becomes a secret keeper and can perceive the protected territory. The only way to get in if you don't know the secret is in deluded state. I bet, if you walk through the labyrinth according to this rule, you see hypnotic pattern that lets you through. But only if you have no forms of ESP- then it won't work as pattern would be distorted.-

-That must be the Old Temple,- whispered Lingam. –It was told to be hidden millennia ago and noone could find it among the enchantments of this place.-

-Then what do we do with it?-

Harry massaged his right wrist.

-If you give me the sword, I can break Fidelius down. I don't need the blade so you can keep it, Xander.-

-Works for me.-

********

-We failed you, master,- whispered one of the robed figures.

-Not me you've failed, adepts, but our Lord. Not my it's place to judge your failing. But you have brought us knowledge- knowledge of our enemies, of their power and skill. For that you have not failed. The Old Temple did rise, but now it can fall as the secret keeps it no more. For that you have not failed. You've depleted forces of our foes. For that you have not failed. Debrief in two hours, meanwhile see to healers. Rise and walk now, the disciples of the One Lord. Ph'nglui mglw'nafh C'thulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn!-

- C'thulhu fhtagn!-

*********

Japan met two travelers with a wall of rain. Storm was strong and got Xander soaking wet instantly. Harry managed to cast water repulsion on his clothes and remained relatively dry. Fortunately for them, shrine was pretty close and they made it there in a short run.

What looked like a small shrine from the outside was a substantially larger complex. Inside they instantly were recognized, taken over, given warm clothes to change and then led to the tea room.

-Master Samara will see to you in about an hour. Would you care for food.-

-Yes, please, this barbarian,- Harry pointed at Xander. -Is in a bad need of food, just about always.-

Mystic of Reiki temple only smiled and left. In several minutes a man in thick kimono and basket- like helm on his head. As man was moving really slowly and mostly by touch, Xander understood that this construction hindered vision really strongly.

-Is it a tradition of some kind?- he asked Harry. Mage grinned.

-No, it's just a baka-gaijin(1) being tricked into wearing silly outfit. In several minutes he'll get sweaty and cloth will get heavy and restrain him. And he'll be lying on the floor with a basket on his head. Some people here have quite a peculiar sense of humor.-

-And masters of the temple allow it?-

Harry shrugged.

-It keeps tourists and other busybodies away.-

Then the man finally tripped and fell down unable to untangle from 'dear guest' kimono.

-Please… Help…-

-Accio rubbish bin,- chanted the mage. The 'hat' left its place on the guest's head and appeared in Harry's hand. Englishman drew his wand and muttered a short spell to turn kimono into a bathrobe. The guest gave a sigh of relief and stood up.

-Giles?!-

-Xander?!-


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6. Hunt.

Harry sipped green tea from a small ceramic cup, put it down and looked thoroughly at the older man in front of him.

-So, you're the famous Rupert Giles aka Ripper. Quite a few people in London remember you, I'd say. Something about nudity hex.-

Giles did his best to look embarrassed but didn't manage to hide a glint of amusement in his eyes. Xander gave the man a respectful look- he knew that ex-librarian had an interesting youth, but could not imagine how so.

-I guess, many would remember that. Some mundane even claimed it was a new fashion.-

Harry snorted.

-By the way, Xander, I have recently spoken to Willow and she was worried sick as she couldn't reach you. Why don't you call her?-

Xander cringed. He knew that Willow will not take news on his current lifestyle lightly. But now Giles was not going to let the matter slide, so young man took out his phone and dialled a familiar number, while rising and exiting the room.

Harry glanced at him leaving to make sure young man was out of hearing range and turned to Giles.

-He's a good guy, just a tad too angry, but noble, loyal and strong,- Harry sighed. –Shame that he's not from magical background. He'd become an accomplished mage or mystic in no time.-

-Really? I never thought Xander was so gifted.-

-He's a natural medium and his essence pool is close to mine, but I practiced magic for more than ten years and he did not. I suppose that's why many demonic entities feel attracted to him- they feel that he's like a charged battery for them.-

-Medium?-

-Yes, retaining memories from possessions is a characteristic trait of a medium. Strange you don't know that.-

-Watchers aren't taught about humans. Only of monsters.-

-Judging by who's ruling the planet, humans are worse.-

Giles chuckled.

-Now, what really did you want to ask?-

-How bad is Sunnydale?-

-Bad. I only know parts of it, but last few months were too hard for Buffy. She's hunting alone now, while her new Watcher, Margaret Post, handles the research to extent of her abilities. Willow tries to hide it, but I'm afraid she's slowly but steadily failing. When I was forced to leave, she was pretty bad. After chasing away Willow and pushing Xander away she was close to breakdown. I'm afraid for her, but I cannot get inside US- Council made sure of that,- Rupert's voice was full of bitterness and malice.

–Travers definitely knew how to hurt me the most.-

-Have you tried getting through wizarding world channels?-

-No, I never had contacts with them. And I couldn't find anyone from the Clans either. You can believe me, I tried.-

-Clans only have training grounds in London, there recently was a large conflict between "New race" and ABI and they reshuffled their locations in this world. There are local Covens in Cornwell and in Stairfield that will get you up to date very quickly.-

-Over Hellmouths?-

-Yes, both British Hellmouths are under Clans' jurisdiction now. Council had to agree after young Dexter Smythe tried to open one. Clans pushed for priority and organised covens there, so the Council got a friendly kick up the backside for speed. Wizarding world is a bit trickier to find- you'll have to search for a pub called "Leaky cauldron" close to King's Cross. It's under illusion of absence, but with some trying you'll get in. You need to ask barman to let you through as your wand got damaged. Your magical abilities are sufficient to operate one. Then go to Gringotts, it's a goblin bank, there you can exchange ponds for galleons, it's wizarding world's currency. Then you need to find an international portkey shop. Don't forget to get dollars in advance. Yeah, and muggle means non-magical.-

Giles nodded and silence fell. In several seconds Xander came back into the room.

-Just finished, he grinned. –I forgot how I miss her babble. On the other hand, I managed to weasel local military base's accountancy from her.-

-What's that for?- Harry asked. Of all things, military paperwork did not look like the most helpful of things.

-Actually, it's amazing how much an educated person can learn from balance books. If you see, for example, a repeating record of fuel consumption that wasn't there a few months ago, you can get that there is a new transport route. If a set of materials, that only has numbers and letters, but no words, arrives to the storage facility earlier that day and if written off after dark, it looks like we know what's transported. And so on- thorough check through balance books can work better than a spell.-

Harry looked amused. He couldn't even think to use such an approach to locate the secret military base and Xander's inventiveness more than pleased the mage.

-So, if you get your hands on the balance books, you can deduce the fuel consumed for each trip and narrow down the area of possible base's location. Then overlay it with map of underground caverns and hence narrow down the list to few if not one location. Assuming, facility is close to centre of town, so that whatever brought them to Hellmouth was close.-

-Furthermore, it's possible to deduce approximate number of people at the facility through uniform supplies. Military thinking works in strange ways,- grinned the Californian.

-Sorry, good sirs, but Samara-sama invites metre Potter and his student to lunch with her. -

A young woman in traditional clothing and fox mask appeared in the door way.

-Well, it was nice finally meeting you, sir Giles. We'll meet again,- the mage bowed his head, stood up from his place and left the room.

-See ya, G-man,- Xander smiled and followed the suit.

Meanwhile, on the other side of Pacific, a young man sat in a demon bar, processing this morning's talk with his boss and sipping something beer-like. Holland Manners called him into his office right after weekly dung-throwing contest and ordered him to sit down.

-Good morning, Lindsey, my boy. How are you doing at your new place?-

-Very well, thank you, sir.-

-Now, I suppose you have heard of the break-in incident several months ago?

Lindsey, of course had heard of the greatest FUBAR incident in company's recent history, so he silently nodded.

-The External Security proved incapable of finding the culprit, so Senior Partners have ordered Special Projects to take over the case. Now I'm assigning you to it. The data will be in your mail within an hour and the materials are currently being delivered to your table. Good Luck, Lindsey.-

Materials were remains of clothes, worn by one of the X&H to the mission in Prague. Lindsey involuntarily shivered when he read the file on the mission- a mad sorcerer's spirit, bound to very strong and magic-resistant body out in the city was as close to disaster as possible while not on the Hellmouth. Sebastian Travier, Archmage of Travier clan in his life was quite a vicious bastard, both by Wolfram& Hart and medieval sorcerer's scale of morale. He was the author of Dracula Experiment (which resulted in Dracula the Vampire Sorcerer and Alucard the Demon running around separately; taming one and kicking the other down a peg or two cost the sorcerers, Inquisitors and demon hunters dearly), big fan of mass human sacrifices and the main cause of Holy War between the Church and Sorcerer Clans. Putting him down took twelve archmages and still they never managed to banish him completely. Had he broken free and obtained a body that's just about invulnerable to magic, I'd have been a major bloodbath.

What also creeped him out was that if they could handle this, they could probably succeed in tracking back to him any hunters he sent. Or worse, finish what they left unfinished on the break-in day. He was not a coward or a fool- neither of those survived in W&H for more than a month, but he could analyze the possibilities and it seemed like Holland decided to liberate some office space. For example, his.

And now he sat in a dark room behind a seedy demon bar, surrounded by some of the best demon assassins in US. This was not a pretty sight- most of them looked like drug addict artist's nightmare and those who didn't were invisibles or polymorphs.

-I'm here to suggest you an anonymous contract. Upon hearing the assignment you will have to swear secrecy about this case, which will be duly financially compensated. If this is unacceptable to you, I'll have to ask you to leave.-

Noone left. Everyone here was a professional, a loner and a big fan of challenging missions.

-Good.-

Lindsay picked up a case from the floor, opened it and turned towards them. Inside were sealed containers with pieces of cloth.

-These belong to one of your targets, known as Axe. It's known that his is a demon hunter and quite good at that. We do not know his true identity, face, race, whether he's human or not, but we're sure he's dangerous and experienced in dealing with supernatural. Of his partner Ache it is known that he's a powerful mage, but nothing else. They work really hard to upkeep their incognito.-

Lindsay brought up another case and treated it in the same manner. Only, this case was full of money. Hundred grand.

-And this is what you will get for bringing them in, dead or alive.-

-Keep moving, don't stop for a second! Don't talk! Don't think! Breathe! Move!-

Deep inside Xander wanted to send Harry a glare, but he didn't have a spare second for that. The phantom that chased him around the track was tireless, quick and had a mean right hook, so Xander ran, dodged, rolled, jumped, fell and otherwise moved through the obstacles in front of him. Phantom wasn't far behind and fighting was no option- his last attempt was still bright purple on his face.

Suddenly the labyrinth disintegrated and phantom vanished. Xander noticed that and crumbled onto the ground.

-That was totally uncalled for,- he grumbled, not raising his head from the floor. -You've been kicking me around for the last three days and I still don't understand why.-

Harry sighed.

-You know, a person with your amount of training should have crumbled long ago. Reiki initiation allowed you to use your essence to supply your stamina and the training's purpose was to do that. You can also use it to heal up your injuries about as quickly as a Slayer would. After some training you'll be able to use it to make your body stronger, faster, more durable. Not Jedi-level, but you'll be able to give a professional athlete a run for his money. But this is only the beginning of your training regime. Tomorrow I'll start giving you lessons in applied magic.-

Xander winced.

-Are you sure it's a good idea? Magic tends to go wonky around me. And I mean it.

-Of course it does. You were never taught to control your essence and when you tried to do magic before your essence leaked and supercharged or distorted the spell.

-Anyway, you sure it's a good idea?-

-You'll have to design rite of initiation for Jedi, devise their everyday rituals and find a way to create a personalized lightsaber. I've read up on the subject. If I'm not mistaken, Jedi must build his own lightsaber with his own hands?-

Xander nodded. He could see where Harry was going with this. If Jedi Order was to be created, it could not depend on abilities of some enchanter or enchanters. But still he had no idea on how to get the technology.

-You know, I thought that we could try and replicate the spell Ethan Rayne used... in a more controlled environment.-

Harry sighed.

-The idea is worth some salt but I'm afraid controlled environment and chaos spells don't go together too well. Either the spell goes awry or chaos will be to strong to control. I'm not sure...- suddenly Potter stopped and his eyes misted. He stood still as a statue for several seconds and then he stumbled. But regained composure quite quickly.

-What was that?- Xander was mostly used to his partner's weird habits, but stopping mid-sentence like that was out of character even for him.

-A vision. Several probability chains converged and I could see something. Looks like we'll have to speed up the schedule.-

-What do you mean?-

-We're going to the Citadel of Darkness.-

-Sounds ominous. Is there a sale there?-

-We're going to meet one of the most powerful dark mages in this world.-

Author's Notes: Well, it's been a year. There were good moments, there were bad moments, my view of the world changed quite a bit and I already thought of axing this project. But then there was Conpulsion and I understood that some ideas and characters just refuse to die, so I started preparing to come back. Now I actually have a plot and an idea where it's going, a philosophy to go with it and the morale. I'm also saying that I have a job I need to do and another half a dozen projects I write so there won't be any promises of scheduled updates- that's gonna be lies, shameless lies and statistics.

Also, I'm warning that I'm Russian and English is my second language. So I'm waiting for slippers getting thrown at me for mezztaykz of any kind. And please, DO WRITE REVIEWS, that's positive reinforcement and stuff (thou no one bothered for a year, so no rush). Over and out=)


	7. Interlude 1

Interlude 1.

She was dreaming. It felt like she was engulfed in water, but without breathing issues. She was dreaming but she never woke. Slayer healing was powerless as her mind collapsed into coma.

-So you're just gonna lie there, feeling miserable, pitying yourself and waiting till someone's kind enough to turn off the life support? Some Slayer spirit you have.-

In front of her internal sight appeared a man. He looked... well, average. She was sure she wouldn't notice him on the street and even if she did, she wouldn't remember it a moment later. His eyes were watery-gray, hair was of an average brown color and the only distinguishing feature of his was strong English accent. He sat there cross-legged in the air in front of her.

She glared at him.

-Not terribly tidy it is in your mind, you know,- he continued. -Can you spell PTSD? I know you ditched school but they should have taught you as much. Did sweet Diana Dormer teach you much before Kakistos tore her in half?-

Faith flinched in terror, memory of Diana dying before her eyes.

-Some Slayer you are, if several words can kick you down like that.-

-Bastard,- the Dark Slayer stammered. -Cruel, heartless bastard!-

Anger built up in her and she tried to lunge at her guest. Unsuccessfully- her body just refused to move. Her guest smiled and continued.

-You know, in several months you're gonna heal up and wake. Wonder, what you're gonna do then? Wilkins is dead. Watchers will want to hunt you down. Of all people who could help you there's Joyce, who you won't dare ask for help, Xander, who left the Hellmouth and Giles, who got kicked out of US. So, who are you going to hurt first? Don't tell me that noone- you forgot already how to talk to people without hurting them.-

Faith flinched as if she was punched.

-Maybe Joyce? How dare she believe that you're better than you actually are? Or Buffy, for not breaking under the weight that broke you? Or Willow, for having courage to fight despite the lack of power? Or Xander, who dared to be kind to you despite all the cruelty he'd felt, including that from you? Whom did I miss? Angel, for trying to redeem himself, which you don't have courage to?-

-Stop it! STOP IT! Why?.. Why are you doing this to me? Why are you torturing me?-

She cried. Long ago she promised herself she'll never cry again and now she was there- helpless, alone and crying in despair and pain. As quietly, bitterly and desperately as only a hurt child can. She felt a warm hand go onto the top of her head.

-Sh, darling,- something warm engulfed her and she heard some strange eery tune, like a lullaby she heard from Diana.

_Till very horison _

_Heaven is in the fire._

_Up there turn to ashes_

_All your precious hopes and dreams._

_BUt then sleep is falling,_

_And angles are coming over,_

_Wipe all your tears away _

_And the sorrow leaves you be._

_Fall asleep_

_Right into my arms_

_Fall asleep_

_Listening to rain's song_

_Far away_

_At the edge of the sky_

_You will find_

_Your lost paradise... *_

-Sorry it had to be this painful, but there was no other way, princess. But it's okay now. Sleep.-

The darkness claimed her, but for the fist time in many days, Faith slept in peace.

*-Aria, "Lost paradise"


End file.
